Our Bonds
by BBSHAW2012
Summary: This is a story I wrote for me and my childhood friend. No pairings really. Just Fangirl lovin! SHIKAMARU!...anyway...OCx2 gone ninja
1. Chapter 1

"Mizuki! Wait for me!" A young girl shouted from the top of an apartment complex. The day had been nice; the sun was warm and the breeze blew the heat off casually. She always ended up on the roof on those days: Mizuki, her best friend, knew that like second nature.

The older girl turned to her friend nearly thirty stories above her, "as if I'd just leave without you." She whispered to herself. Mizuki, a lean girl nearly seventeen, stood with a straight back with a swarming air of dignity. Loyally, she sat on a stump and waited for Beni to nearly vault the thirty flights of stairs: possibly thinking Mizuki wouldn't be waiting.

Just as the patient one thought, Beni was panting with her short asthma as she leaned against the back threshold of the complex. Her face was pink and sweat creased her brown eyebrows: Beni's chest heaved nearly into her chin as she drew the inhaler to her chapped lips.

Mizuki only waited with crossed arms and a stern glare. _Why run so hard when you were born not to?_ Her eyes said. Beni shrugged and smiled her silly smile; eventually earning a grin from her childhood friend.

"Mizuki, are we really going to that pond today?" Beni asked anxiously, her hands were itching and she couldn't keep a smile off her face. Giggles erupted like volcanic spurs, and eventually brought Mizuki to fits of laughter. They were parasitic of each other. One's habits and attitude eventually seethed into the other; that's how they survived each other and grew off each other since toddling age.

"Yeah," Mizuki said wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, "Iuno is going to meet us there."

Beni slowed to fall in step behind Mizuki; the giggles stopped. Iuno was someone who gave Beni a sense of insecurity and fright. He was the only boy they met to hang out with. He was taller than them both, with long blond hair and a grin that repulsed Beni into hiding behind her companion. He was unbearable and had an aura of malicious darkness; he revolted Beni to no end.

"M…Mizuki, why is Iuno meeting us there? Can't we have fun ourselves?" Beni clung to her friend's knit sweater. It smelled of her shampoo since her hair fell down the length of her back in brunette perfection: strawberry and the scent Dove soap.

The elder girl looked down to Beni, "He _does _have a good side to him. Just trust me."

Slowly, Beni released her friend's blue top and fell in place beside her, "Of course, Mizuki."


	2. Chapter 2

Mizuki and Beni walked for another ten minutes before they reached aTori_, _a gate meant to symbolize a Shinto Temple. "The pond is here?" Beni asked. She looked up at the chipping red paint and dismembered statues of the temple. She smelled mold from the rice paper screens and the scent of rotting soil. Beni had never been to the pond and had only heard of it through Mizuki; she was beginning to doubt Iuno, Mizuki's source of information, again.

Mizuki didn't look sure but put on a brave façade for her younger friend. She nodded and led Beni by the hand to the back entrance of the Temple.

She stepped over linen sacks of paper, candle stubs, and incense sticks as they progressed. The dank side quarters of the Temple showed signs of no upkeep. It was a forlorn, desolate place that held no hope of fun; Beni did not like the feel, nor did Mizuki. They were going to head back soon if Iuno wasn't found.

A final pull of the hand and push of a stray, rotten plank revealed Iuno. He had his back to them; his long hair tied in a tight braid the length of his shoulder blades like a golden lasso. He was holding something in his hand and Beni heard chanting under his breath.

_What is he doing? _Beni thought as she inched a little closer; she wore glasses, but they were old and needed an update. It was a long piece of paper—no—it was a scroll he was reading from. He pulled a scroll across his hands and chanted something quiet. It looked like a spell.

At his feet was a knapsack of brown leather and a long instrument covered in linen. Beni leaned closer; Mizuki leaned away. They did not let go of each other, and Mizuki was shaking. She was getting an ominous feeling and was near tears. Beni didn't let go, but her curiosity got the better of her.

Beni's sense of adventure and curiosity outnumbered Mizuki's fright in those situations.

Her foot knocked a pale from an unstable stoop and made a perceptible clatter. Beni and Mizuki looked stricken as if they would be caught witnessing a murder. Mizuki wanted to run; Beni wanted to know what he was doing.

"Hey!" Iuno shouted, turning to them. The two friends froze with fright and beating hearts. Mizuki grasped Beni's forearm and shook even more.

Iuno had rolled the scroll up and fastened a small twine piece around it. It sat on top of the sack he had at his feet. He was advancing towards the girls now. His steps graceful and long reached their frightened, shaking bodies in less than a few seconds.

Beni edged her way between Iuno's path and Mizuki, quietly and without any sudden moves. Her hands didn't shake, nor did they lose strength as she grabbed Mizuki's hand in her cool palm. She felt Mizuki cling to the back of her thin green t-shirt.

"What are you doing?" Iuno asked in his serpentine voice. Beni shuddered and Mizuki continued to shiver.

"Just what are you doing?" Beni asked. She looked behind him and saw a light coming not far from the brown leather knapsack. In the split second Beni looked away, to the dull blue light, she was taken by the collar and thrown into the dank shadows of the abandoned temple. Mizuki lurched forward to reach Beni. She was caught with a wheeling swoop of Iuno's forearm to her stomach.

The sudden impact took her breath away and pushed an ache into her abdomen.

He caught her torso with his powerful arms and lifted her from her knees and over his shoulder. He licked his lips with a snaky tongue and turned to the illumination. Mizuki threw her fists against his back and kicked frantically.

"BEEENIII!" She kept calling; she kept calling her friend into the ear of her abductor to break his eardrums. She hated him, loathed him, and wanted him to never appear before her again. _How DARE he throw Beni! _"BEEENIII!"

-ENIII!" It was blackness she woke up to. Beni couldn't see anything with a pain pulsing through her face and shoulders. She tasted metallic spit in her mouth: blood. It was rolling down her face and over her left eye. Her glasses had been stained and cracked and her knee felt twisted.

Had she landed on anything else other than the cast-off rugs and miscellaneous alter figurines, she wouldn't have been able to get up and pursue Iuno.

But she did. Beni saw Iuno lug the thrashing girl on his shoulder. Beni ran: as if her knee wasn't hurting her more than a root canal, as if she wasn't hyperventilating with her slight asthma, as if Iuno wasn't a strong man that could easily kill her considering how he just tossed her aside. She ran to Mizuki; no matter how far, how long, or how dangerous the road was, Beni would never hesitate to get Mizuki in her hands again.

"How annoying." Iuno slurred at Mizuki. She kicked him in the chest and abdomen as hard as her sandals would let her. She clawed at his neck, shoulders, and back with nails painted pale green the night before. She drew blood after several attempts, but she soon found her head shrouded with a black atmosphere and her eyelids grew heavy. Her face, tense from screaming and anger, loosened and fell peaceful. Her head lopped to the side as her muscles lost strength.

He had knocked her out.

"MIIZUUKII!" Beni screamed with rasping lungs that threw her heart into her throat all the more. The frantic girl, seeing her friend no longer struggling, pawed at the air with her fists as she tried to run faster.

Beni stumbled over a rock, but regained her balance. She was gasping horribly now, but she only had concern for Mizuki. Iuno's back was at the blue light now. Beni ran faster, harder, and more desperately.

She had no plan as to how she was supposed to get Mizuki from him, but she would rather die than live without doing anything.

Beni called her name again as she pounced on Iuno. She visualized her arms reaching around Iuno's neck and dragging him down into the pitiful grass surrounding. She planned to hit him in the face until she felt his serpentine blood between the fissures of her fist. But that isn't what happened.

The girl pounced from where she was and skid across the plate of blue light in front of her. Iuno has stepped aside, _he's really fast,_ Beni thought as she wiped some of the blood from her eye.

Uneasily, she tried to stand from the sea of blue light underneath her: it was blinding. Beni winced under the light and tried to glare at Iuno.

She fumbled her fingers around in the blue light. _It's cold,_ she thought. She felt around more and it felt icy. It _was _ice. Apparently, Iuno wasn't lying to Muzuki when he mentioned the pond behind the temple. _But, _Beni thought, _how did he freeze the lake in the middle of summer? _Beni glanced up at Iuno: _what _is _he? _

With Mizuki slung over his shoulder, he slapped his hands together and, faster than her eyes could follow, Beni watched as he formed seals with his fingers entwined with each other.

He shouted "Ketsu!" And his eyes flashed a bright white color. The sea of blue underneath Beni shook and her muscles, already exhausted from running so fiercely, gave out beneath her. Her head, which was still bleeding and aching, smacked against the hard ice of the pond.

Iuno stepped onto the shaking light and, with a nasty smile towards Beni, vanished. Beni stared as her friend disappeared from her sight with such a dangerous man. She crawled to where Iuno vanished.

Her head, once again, slammed against the icy ground as her hand slid through a small opening in the lake. A dimension-warping hole opened beneath her. Beni, with the last of her audible breath, screamed for Mizuki as she fell helplessly following her friend.


	3. Chapter 3

Flashes of purple, green, blue, and every color imaginable flashed through Beni's eyes. Her eyes bounced from one color to the next. It was a kaleidoscope of patterns and design, colors and hues, abstract and precise.

Her muscles clenched and loosened spontaneously. Beni felt as if she were falling in an icy space. Cold, freezing air passed by her watering eyes and bleeding countenance; her body shivered and her nerves bounced under her skin.

Something was happening to her body. Beni felt pains in her limbs and torso; not large enough to scream for, but they were noticeable and annoyed her. Her joints ached like an hour of sitting in fetal position; her fingernails even pulsed with energy.

She was changing, whether she knew for the better or not, Beni didn't even know if she would live long enough to find out.

Beni kept falling. Iuno's long blonde hair was in front of her, flowing like a Children's Day carp flag. She saw Mizuki falling as well. He was gripping her tightly like a spider to his prey.

They continued to fall for another three minutes. All the while, Beni was thrown around by an invisible force. Her head and feet changed positions in seconds and her long light brown hair whipped her in the face more than once; it stung like hundreds of bees.

_Crap!_ Beni thought. _I'm not getting anywhere like this! I'm not a freaking ragdoll!_ Beni tried to dive while falling to go faster than Iuno. She moved her arms like a swimmer and kicked her feet, trying to find any solid object to push off from: there were none.

She tried to get closer. Beni could only look at Iuno's golden hair fall in front of her.

_Wait, _Beni spotted a bright spot of white beyond Iuno's falling figure. It wasn't like any of the other colors within the portal. It was the way out; it was wherever that portal led to.

Iuno was shining now. He was fading; his body became translucent and vanished seamlessly, just like white smoke into the atmosphere.

Beni's eyes, after being tainted with dirt and blood, poured tears now. Her glasses, surprisingly unscathed, were held tightly in her hand with the staining blood spots.

_Mizuki…I'm coming._ Beni soon began to disappear. First her hands, then her feet vanished. Her entire body eventually vanished into the blues and greens of the multi-universal threshold: and she became nothing.

The light was greater than the colors of the tunnel. Beni blinked in the bright, natural sunshine of wherever she had ended up. It was warm against her broken skin and crying face, but she couldn't savor it.

Iuno landed several feet from her with Mizuki held bridle style. Her head lopped to his chest and her brown hair poured over his arms like a waterfall tasting the evening's light. He hoisted her up to get a better grip and pulled something from a bag on his hip. Beni hadn't noticed it before.

"There is no need for _two _girls. Now is there?" Iuno whispered in his mephitic voice.

"You asshole! Give me Mizuki back NOW!" Beni growled. She could see the thing in his hand reflect the sunlight: it was a blade. No. It was a kunai.

_Like the weapons from Naruto? This is a little strange. _Beni thought. She and Mizuki adored the Naruto series. They would watch their movies every other week together and chat about the best scenes in Naruto history: it all seemed like a far-off dream in this situation. Beni was injured, facing her possible murderer, and Mizuki was unconscious and being kidnapped.

Iuno waved the kunai at Beni, "What naughty language, you brat!" He charged at Beni with the other girl over his shoulder. Beni could only stumble and trip over a root. Iuno missed her heart and cut her collar bone when he threw the kunai.

Blood spilled over her t-shirt. Beni grunted as she stretched to get the bleeding kunai just a meter away. A weapon would do her good if she wanted to fight Iuno.

She gripped it tightly and stood up.

Iuno was smirking at her, like a scheming hyena, and dropped Mizuki with a _thud._

He charged again at Beni, with a sword in hand. It had been slung over his chest during the tunnel ride. Beni didn't know that he such a legitimate weapon on him. _Crap_, Beni thought.

He stabbed the blade at her. Asthma kicked Beni in the stomach as she fell to the ground to avoid getting slashed. Iuno tried to stab her when she was lying on her back, but Beni rolled out of his aim. She hit her head, again, on a rock not far from the sword embedded into the ground where her head used to lay.

Iuno cursed under his breath, "Will you just stay still you little brat!" Iuno stepped on her stomach with his large foot. He pinned her down, as well as stepping the breath out of her, and drew his sword up in striking position.

Beni was at a loss. Her mind wouldn't work with the pain coursing through her entire body and couldn't find an alternative to get away from him.

She had an impulsive thought and acted on it immediately.

"Aah!" Iuno wailed as the kunai pierced his leg. Beni wasn't athletic or heroic, but she was smart. Hours of watching her brother's physical therapy had enlightened her about the most painful parts of the body. Jabbing a blade underneath the knee cap was the most painful place Beni could've hit in her position. If she was standing, she would've gone for his ear.

To add more pain, Beni jerked the flat of the blade towards her, dislocating the kneecap. His strength faltered and Beni kicked his foot off before his sword went through her lungs. She rolled onto her hands and knees to breath.

Iuno was holding his bleeding leg and dropped his sword. The dust from the dirt stuck to his bloody hands like static. His hands soon looked brown with dust.

Beni wiped blood from her eyes and mouth. Her head droned with pain and the kunai she managed to pull out of Iuno's leg shook in her hands. She didn't have the strength to stand up, not to mention the strength to keep fighting.

Mizuki stirred several meters from where Beni was. Iuno was still coddling his busted leg by a tree. He didn't notice Beni move quietly to Mizuki's side.

Beni grunted repeatedly as she slid over the dusty ground to her friend's side. She wiped some more blood from her face as Mizuki stirred awake. "Mizuki…" Beni whispered. A smile erupted on her face and tears smeared the blood over her cheeks.

The girl hadn't woken up yet, but she was close. Ebni crawled over Mizuki like a tent over a ceremony, and glared at Iuno. The kunai was gripped in her palm and a sneer was set into her features. She would never hand Mizuki over to such a creature.

"You….little…brat!" Iuno rasped against saliva running from the corner of his mouth. He looked like a rabid dog coming at Beni with a limp and a sword. She couldn't think of anything to do again, just pain and worry came to mind. She was panicking with her hurried heart and pulsating wounds.

Those most important to Beni flashed through her head: her younger brother, a high-school athlete, her little sister, a writer beyond her years, and Mizuki, her most precious friend. Beni would never see them smile again or scold her for running. She missed it already as Iuno's blade glistened in the setting sun.

In desperation, Beni screamed into Mizuki's light blue sweater, "HEEELP!"

Everything was quiet in the spilt second before Iuno's sword would've hit Beni's shoulder, a minute before Mizuki finally regained her consciousness, and an instant before Beni passed out.

Iuno stopped suddenly, unable to move. Something translucent and dark in color went through his hip, arms, and legs. Nothing fatal was hit.

Beni looked at Iuno is shock. His blade was inches from her body and the kunai dropped from her hand. It was a miracle that she was still alive; still leaning over Mizuki in her bloody, beaten form.

"Are you okay?" Someone asked from the shadows. It was a heavenly voice that settled Beni's heart in an instant. It was a girl's voice: cute, sweet, and delicate. She jumped from a tree limb in front of the two girls.

Mizuki stirred and her eyes opened slowly. Beni was getting weaker by the second, but she saw Mizuki's green eyes before her world was engulfed in opaque darkness.

A drop of blood hit Mizuki's cheek. She looked up and saw Beni's trodden face staring down at her. Her left eye was half-closed and bruised, her nose was bleeding and spilling over her mouth and chin. There were dried spots of blood and cuts that clotted considerably quickly. There was hair stuck to Beni's face like wet paper from the blood and the expression that brought it all together was one of pain, but extreme relief.

She uttered, "Mizuki…thank the gods you're alright." Before Beni slumped over and fell hard against the packed dirt floor in unconsciousness. Mizuki screamed her friends name after the shock left her.

Mizuki sat up and leaned over Beni's still form. She wasn't dead, but Mizuki cried and cried at the blood leaking over the dirt and staining her hands.

"Beni, wake up! Wake up!" Mizuki's hands were trembling and her body shook in tremors as Beni didn't even stir.

Mizuki hunched over and sobbed into her hands. Her muscled tensed and her shoulders slumped in hopelessness, until she felt a cool palm over her neck.

With tear-stained eyes, Mizuki looked up at the other people surrounding her. Beni had been her priority and she didn't notice the strangers. She recognized Iuno immediately and rage flamed beside her fear, but she was steadied by a girl with beautiful features.

Mizuki's eyes widened as she recognized her. Her dark blue hair spilled over her shoulders shrouded in a light purple jacket and her slender hands glowed green as they hovered over Beni. Mizuki confirmed it was, indeed, Hyuuga Hinata when the ninja turned to smile reassuringly at the crying girl. She had no pupils in a sea of purple-tinted cream-colored eyes. It was the Byakugan, and Mizuki couldn't believe her eyes.

"You…you are…"

"Oi, Hinata," Called a man from behind them. Mizuki whipped her head around to see a man walk up to them. His hair was his most ascertaining feature: a thick, spiking ponytail. It was Naara Shikamaru. His shadow possession technique had stopped Iuno from killing Beni and now, with Iuno in the captivity of their third team member, he was coming to Hinata's side to check out the girls' condition.

He kneeled beside Mizuki, "Hinata, is she going to be alright?" Hinata was hesitant. Mizuki started panicking.

"No….No! Tell me she's alright!" Mizuki peered down at her friend's still face again. It was nearly beyond recognizing. Beni's lips weren't smiling and her hair was sleeked with scarlet blood instead of blowing in the wind; she didn't look like the normal Beni, but someone from a bad dream.

Mizuki gripped Beni's shirt: it was green, darkened with the stamp of blood. Her muscles felt like jelly and her grip quickly faltered. She felt disheartened when she saw Beni in such a state: even Hinata couldn't confirm immediately that Beni would be alright.

"No." Hinata said, "No, she will be alright, eventually. We need to get to a hospital, quickly. She's lost a lot of blood and needs a transfusion. She will die without it."

"No…Beni." Mizuki coddled Beni's head in her lap and cried. Her best friend was in threat of losing her life. Mizuki had grown up with Beni, she had shared her best memories with Beni, and she had cried in the worst times with Beni. Mizuki was sure that Beni felt the same way, and she did. "Please," Mizuki mumbled, "Please carry her to the hospital. I beg of you, help me save her!"

Shikamaru and Hinata exchanged looks, "fine," Shikamaru said. Hinata smiled at Mizuki and helped her up. Shikamaru kneeled next to Beni and picked her up in his toned forearms. It wasn't the time or place, but Mizuki thought;_ Shouldn't I tell them that Shikamaru is Beni's favorite character?_ Beni's head rolled into Shikamaru's chest as he stood up. _Maybe not._

Mizuki bit her lip and followed Hinata. The ninja led her to their third team member: Sai. Mizuki did a double-take. _Is this really the ninja world? Where are we…and how?_

"Sai-kun," Hinata said, "Could you take this girl to the Hidden Sound Village. Her and her friend must get to a hospital quickly."

"Of course, Hinata," He said with his simple smile. It reminded Mizuki of a cat's grin. Sai bent down and turned his open back to Mizuki, "Get on." He said.

Carefully, Mizuki climbed onto Sai's back. It was like a solid wall; Mizuki had never been carried piggy-back style since her childhood. It felt good to have someone's heartbeat sound against her chest. Her forearms wrapped around his neck tighter and a smile came to her lips as she felt his heat.

As a child, Mizuki was always sharing a bed with her mother. Since her independent years, her bed was cold and lonely. To have someone's body heat against her when her mind worried for Beni was the greatest relief.

"Okay," Shikamaru said as he shuffled Beni in his arms for a better grip, "Let's go."

They all disappeared into the forest overhead. The scenery of green and blue leaves went past the six teenagers as they quickly traveled to the nearest hospital: the general hospital of the Hidden Sound Village.

"Sai-san," Mizuki said, "thank you very much."

Sai, unused to such gratitude, smirked as Mizuki buried her head deeper into his neck. The girl felt more of a brotherly comfort from Sai's manly features.

Hinata activated her Byakugan since she was in charge of sensing enemies: it was her technique that brought the ninja to the two girls in trouble. Hinata sensed the threat of a small amount of chakra and two sets of diluted chakra. They initially went to observe their fight, but Shikamaru deduced that the girls didn't have ninja training, but Beni was trying to defend Mizuki from Iuno. He stopped Iuno from killing the girl and gave him to Sai. He wasn't a major threat, so they simply left him unconscious.

Shikamaru, mumbling to himself about a mission he went on earlier in the week, was carefully jumping from tree branch to branch with his damaged cargo. Beni winced with pain, but her blood ceased to seep from her due to Hinata's ointment to stop bleeding.

_What's going on?_ Beni thought. She was regaining some of her consciousness: just her sight. _Where's Mizuki…? _Beni steadily opened her eyes. He was wearing green over something black. His jaw line was outstanding even from her lower perspective and his arms around her were hard with muscle and soft with genuine concern.

Beni, being half-conscious, looked up at him and thought she recognized him. _Shikamaru…_She thought. She always reread the chapters of manga with Shikamaru. He was admirable and dependable, loyal and determined: she was his ultimate fangirl.

"Shikamaru-sama," Beni muttered as she lifted her hand to brush his vest. She wanted to touch his earring, since she had cosplay copies in her room, but she was lacking the strength. Beni grasped his shirt sleeve in a pitiful grip instead. "This must be a dream. Maybe I'm dead," she started rambling, "Shikamaru-sama." He looked down after stopping on a branch.

Her eyes were barely open and a look of concern was tattooed on her face. Shikamaru looked at her, "Such a handsome face," Beni muttered, "Tell me…" she took a forcefully difficult breath, "is Mizuki safe?"

Shikamaru looked up from her and peered at Sai and Hinata as they gathered around. "She shouldn't have been able to wake up for days," Hinata commented. Shikamaru shrugged. He was always indifferent.

"Yeah, your friend's okay. No need to worry anymore." Shikamaru said. His brown eyes peered at her indifferently as Beni struggled to stay awake. Tears of icy relief calmed her hot cheeks and beating heart when Shikamaru told her flatly that Mizuki was alive and safe.

A sigh came from her lips, "Thank the gods….Mizuki's…safe." She fell back into unconsciousness with a small smile. Her head lopped into Shikamaru's chest as everything went black again.

"Jeese Hinata," Shikamaru kept gazing at Mizuki and Beni in turns, "How far off is the village?"

They got to the village in several hours of branch hopping and running. Beni was admitted to the hospital.

"What's the name?" Said the nurse, her nametag said 'Kim' and she was the one who admitted Beni to an operation room: she was chewing on some gum with bright red lipstick. Mizuki and the others were waiting in the lobby.

Mizuki was getting anxious to see Beni, "Her name is Asade Beni."

"And you? Who are you?" Asked the nurse.

"I am Kuruizawa Mizuki: her friend."

"Where is her family?" The questions went on like that for a while. The nurse left the lobby after looking at the clock, "The transfusion will be done in several hours. When she wakes up she will be ready for visitors."

"In a couple of hours…" Mizuki repeated it to herself. She had no more and no direction of where she was. The three that brought her there wouldn't stay to take them to their village, nor would they stay with Mizuki as she helplessly waited for Beni to wake up. Above all, Mizuki was really relieved that she wasn't the only one from their world.

"Hinata and Sai will stay here as your chaperones while I report back to the village." Shikamaru said. He was going to write a letter of completion and an explanation of delay to the Hokage and send it off with a hawk.

"Thank you very much, all of you." Mizuki said. She sat down next to Sai. Hinata went to get some food for them.

"You are not from here, are you?" Sai asked her.

"The Hidden Sound Village? Of course I'm not from here."

"Do you know how you got here?"

"…No. That man, Iuno, he tried to kidnap me. He hurt Beni and I couldn't get away from him. He knocked me out and I woke up where you found us. I don't remember anything, I'm sorry." Mizuki played with her hem and finally saw some blood stains from Beni when she was leaning protectively over her. It only made Mizuki cry, "And…Beni," she was sobbing, "She stopped him from taking me. She got hurt, and even then she didn't stop fighting him." Mizuki clapped her hands to her face and cried into her palms, "Beni saved my life, and it nearly killed her!"

Sai kept a straight face and pat her shoulder in reassurance, "please do not cry. Us shinobi know all too well the loss of a friend and of family. They protect us with their lives, but they are the happiest people in the world, drawing their last breaths, when their loved ones are safe from their sacrifice. I'm sure that Beni is very happy that you are unhurt and safe with us."

"Your brother…." Mizuki said. She had watched the anime, while Beni read the manga, of the latest Naruto episodes. She knew about his brother. "Your brother is the same, isn't he?"

"H…How much do you know about my brother?" Sai moved away from her, seeing her in a new light. He hadn't told any of his new friends about his brother, but this stranger somehow knew about him.

"Oh," Mizuki didn't catch her fault, "Beni probably knows more than me. It's incredible how much she can remember about that stuff." Sai wasn't responding.

Mizuki finally caught her slip up. She was _in _the world she used to watch online. She shouldn't know anything about all this, since she was a stranger to the lands and just appeared out of nowhere.

"Uh—no! I don't really know anything. It just sounded like you had a younger brother, the way you cheered me up like that. Beni has younger siblings and says the same stuff. Uh…sorry." Mizuki was nervous. Sai's eyes were as cold and indifferent as ever, but his rigid muscles and posture gave hints of suspicion. Being a ROOT member didn't hide all his emotions: especially concerning his brother. Mizuki mentioned Sai's brother as being younger, even if he _was _older and not really his brother, but Mizuki lied in order to shrug Sai's suspicion.

It seemed to work. Sai leaned back, "Yes. I have a brother, what kind of sister is Beni?"

Mizuki didn't have to really think about her answer, but she thought about _why _Sai would be interested in it. Mizuki pursed her lips in thought, "I guess she's a sister that doesn't seem to care on the outside, but she is always thinking of her younger siblings. There isn't a day that we play that she doesn't mention her brother's track meet, or her sister's recital and how good she sings during practice. Beni sings too, but she never had such a passion for it like her sister."

Mizuki leaned into the hard, plastic chair and crossed her legs, "She never misses her brother's sports events and always helps her sister practice for recitals and concerts. They wouldn't admit it, but I know that it is a mutual family love."

Sai chuckled, definitely out of character, and said, "You seem to enjoy talking about Beni and her family."

Mizuki shrugged, "I just really like family ties. That's all."

"Do you have siblings?" Sai asked. He was getting his fill of questions. It started sounding like an interrogation.

"Yeah. I have an older brother and two sisters. I'm the youngest, and the only one from my mother and father. The others are all half-siblings, but I love them just as much as I would love full-blood siblings.

"Beni's the oldest of her two siblings, and she never shirks her responsibilities as the older sister. We are alike, but we are different in what we find important. I don't know really how to explain it."

"hmm." Said Sai, "I think that half the friendship between you two is the fact that you even each other out. One is the opposite of another, yet you fit together in the same way."

"Well," Mizuki was beginning to understand, "you have a point," she pushed some of her long brown hair from her face, "But what's the other half of our friendship?"

Sai looked at her with his bleak, dark eyes and gave his shallow smile. Mizuki had seen it countless times in the anime, but the genuine thing made her heart beat with otaku excitement, "Your mutual family love." Is all he said.


	4. Chapter 4

Beni woke up to a darkness that quickly formed into sickly fluorescent lights. _It's a freakin' hospital…_Beni didn't like hospitals either. _Where am I? Where's Mizuki? Argh….why do I keep losing consciousness? _Beni thought.

She tried to sit up in the sterilized bedding and cringed as her wounds pulsed through the pain killer, "Crap!" Beni shouted. She naturally had bad language, much to Mizuki's dismay, but it just proved Sai's loose theory of opposites attracting.

_Why do I feel so weak? I can barely sit up. When did I get these wounds—Oh yeah! Where's Iuno? _She looked around with unexpected effort and tried to call Mizuki. She was very tired and soon fell back into the piles of pillows underneath her.

_Jeese, I hate hospitals. _Beni looked up at the bright lights of the white room for another three minutes before a nurse came in, left, and came back with followers in tow.

_Mizuki…_Beni was overjoyed to see her friend energetically run into the room and hug her neck. It hurt of course, but Beni didn't say anything as she smelled the faint smell of Mizuki's strawberry shampoo.

"Beni; I'm so glad that you're awake. I knew you wouldn't leave me here alone!" She hugged tighter and Beni grunted trying to hold in a moan of pain.

"Mizuki, how did we get here? Oh, I had a great dream when I was unconscious. It's about Shikamaru and I think we were talking about you. You know how dreams are…" Beni trailed off as the others came into the room, or rather, when Beni finally noticed them.

Beni gaped at Hinata's timid stance and at Sai's smile. But she really stopped at Shikamaru. He had his hands in his pockets and blood on his sleeves and chest.

"You…you are—Mizuki! Slap me! Am I dreaming?"

Mizuki laid her cool palm over Beni's warm cheek: Beni had always had heat flashes in times of excitement. "You're not dreaming. They're for real. Shikamaru carried you here." Mizuki gave Beni a wink unnoticed by the others.

Beni blushed and looked at Shikamaru, "Nara-sama," she respected him so much, he was the idol in her life and addressed him as a high figure, "Thank you so much for your help. I am in eternal debt to you all for saving Mizuki. I owe you my life as well."

Shikamaru looked quizzically at her, "'Shikamaru' is fine."

Beni swallowed a fangirl squeal, "Yes, yes. How long have I been out?"

"six hours," Hinata chimed in. She walked up to the side of Beni's bed, "You recovered faster than we thought."

"Beni…" Mizuki sat on Beni's bed, "They said you wouldn't survive. They had doubts."

The invalid put her warm hand over Mizuki's, "and they had good cause to doubt. They are ninja; they don't hold hopes that could be easily disappointed. I'm like that too. I don't expect anything good to happen, so when something does, it's all the more great." Beni smiled up at Mizuki who was close to tears, "But if I hadn't survived," Mizuki gasped in apprehension and gave Beni a glare, "Hahaha; _if _I hadn't survived, I still would've been the happiest person to breath their final breath knowing you were safe. Trust me Mizuki, you mean more than my own life."

Mizuki wiped some tears from her cheeks and squeezed Beni's hand before taking a seat on an armchair next to the bed. Shikamaru came to Beni's side, "May I be blunt with you both?"

Mizuki looked over at Beni, they were both confused. "Sure," said a hesitant Beni.

"What exactly are you two?" Shikamaru's eyes, small and brown with analytical power, drilled into Beni's vulnerable condition.

"Hmm…what do you mean Shikamaru?" Obviously, Hinata and Sai had the same doubts about the two strange girls because they looked just as eager for an answer.

"You seem to know more than you let on."

"Mizuki," Beni called, "Should we have fun with this?" Mizuki shrugged, "It's all a weird dream, isn't it? Let's make the most of it, okay?"

"I see where you're coming from. Alright, but you know more than I do, since you read the manga and I don't." Mizuki crossed her arms playfully with a pout and a sneer of lively excitement.

"Yeah, that's true. But the anime has more episodes than the manga. You might know something I don't." Beni put a thumbs up and Mizuki giggled.

"Alright. I was waiting for you to wake up to have fun anyway." They seemed to have forgotten about all their troubles as they spoke with each other. Iuno was no longer in their thoughts as playful banter passed between them. Their laughs were genuine and timeless as they enjoyed each other's safety and presence.

"Hey." Shikamaru said, disrupting the friendly conversation, "What are you talking about?"

"Okay. I'll explain. We are not from your world. We are from a different dimension and in our world, your lives are entertainment. The story that revolves around Uzumaki Naruto is entertainment in both television and books. We know much about your lives." Beni said.

Mizuki took charge of the explanation, "There are two ways to indulge in the Naruto world: Manga and Anime. I watch the anime, which is a cartoon that revolves around Naruto and his friends. Beni reads the manga, which is produces quicker and more often than the show; so when we left our world, more of the story of Naruto was shown in the manga than in the anime: so Beni knows more about it than I do."

Hinata came to stand next to Shikamaru, "I don't get it."

"I'll give you an example then. Hmm…okay. I'll tell you about anyone in the village. Name someone, Hinata." Beni offered. She was skeptical since she was still on pain killers and may not remember much, but she was hoping it would be someone she knew.

"Shikamaru…" Hinata looked to him for advice. He nodded his head in approval of the example. She named Kiba.

"Your teammate." Beni began. That got some gapes from Hinata and strange looks from the men, "As a child in the academy, he was friends with trouble-making Naruto and lazy Shikamaru. He is a member of the Inuzuka clan, a clan whose justsus specialize in beast companionship. Akamaru is his dog partner, and they lost the Chuunin exams to Naruto during the preliminaries, but became Chuunin after Naruto left."

"That was hilarious," Mizuki added. She remembered how Naruto and his infamous gas had ruined missions before and after the Chuunin exams.

"Sasuke," Shikamaru said. He wanted to know how much they knew. But that depended.

"What major event has happened in Konoha lately? So I can get an estimate of time." Beni said.

"…" Shikamaru was hesitant to say anything too revealing to the strangers who knew more than they should.

"Come on…we don't know when we landed here." Mizuki said from her perch on the chair.

"Sasuke has begun to collect his team—"

"With Akastuki?" Mizuki asked. Shikamaru observed her as she went into further explination, "Sasuke has collected the heir to the Seven Swordsmen of the Hidden Mist Village, Hoozuki Suigestu, the jailer, Karin, and the man, Juugo."

"Yes." Sai said, "He calls his team Hebi."

"Hah, not for long." Beni interjected.

"What do you mean?"

"Naruto would want to know before anyone else. I'll tell him." Beni said. She looked at Mizuki. They had never had this much power over anyone, and just by remembering the Naruto series did they attain that advantage.

"Fair enough. We will take you to Konoha as soon as you are well enough to travel." Hinata said.

Beni smiled, "I'm ready now." She sat up and nearly screamed as the last of the pain killers wore out and her body pulsed. She smirked, "What a strange dream: I feel a lot of pain."

"You cannot go anywhere like that, and you know it!" Mizuki said, playfully slapping Beni's hand.

"I guess not. Hey Shikamaru," Beni said. The ninja came closer, "I'm sorry."

"For what?" He asked.

"…Nothing."

The ninja excused themselves to plan the voyage back to the village. Beni closed her eyes, but still kept talking with Mizuki.

"What were you going to say to Shikamaru?" Mizuki asked her friend.

"Asuma is going to die soon enough. We can't stop it or Shikamaru will never inherit his Will of Fire." Beni was a history buff, which made it easy to relate events to their causes, "and if Asuma doesn't die, he will not help Choji become a great Shinobi."

Mizuki gripped Beni's forearm. Her friend was on the verge of tears, "I don't want him to cry again. I saw it twice already; I don't want to be responsible for that. He might even hate me for not saying anything."

"But it must be done. It is the turning point for Shikamaru and his team. Even Naruto is influenced by Asuma's death and Kurenai's baby. It's all really connected." Mizuki sighed, "But then again, this is all a dream, right?"

"i…I'm not sure anymore, Mizuki."


End file.
